Boz Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Following up on its successful E3 press conference earlier today, Microsoft held a special hands-on event at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles this evening. Besides showing off the latest versions of games like Halo 3: ODST, Forza Motorsport 3, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Shadow Complex, Microsoft also had special "behind closed doors" demos of two of its more secretive projects, Project Natal and Alan Wake. I'll admit that I was eager to try out Natal specifically to see just how real the onstage demo from earlier today truly was. After all, what Microsoft showed onstage -- not counting the incredibly long ultra-saccharine marketing video -- was pretty impressive. As Steven Spielberg alluded to in his surprise speech at that very press conference, a camera that could act as an "invisible controller" for hardcore and first-time gamers alike really would be a defining moment for the next generation of videogames. Here's the amazing thing -- I played with the Natal for all of 5-6 minutes, and I have to say, it actually works. The first demo I tried was what Microsoft was calling "Burnout Natal." Though it isn't a real game in development, the mixture of Burnout Paradise and the Natal camera was meant to provide proof that you could use the device's technology for practically any genre or software. How quickly I was recognized into the Natal's body identification system (just a few seconds) was surprising, and in a matter of moments I was controlling Burnout paradise with my feet and hands. Most of the people around me during the MS press conference were groaning when they showed how a racing game would control with Natal in the aforementioned marketing footage, but truth be told, it's a lot more fun than it looks. Though I did miss the bit of resistance that a controller or steering wheel normally gives me, I was shocked to see how natural it felt to drive a car without actually being in one. How easy was it? To accelerate, I simply moved my right leg forward; to brake, I moved it backwards, and to pop it into a neutral position, I just stood straight up (or as straight as my spine would allow me to stand after 12+ hours of E3 spelunking). Driving was just a matter of pretending that I had a steering wheel in my hands, and every subtle movement I made was picked up by the camera allowing me to drive pretty well (and pretty straight) for the few minutes I got to try it out. As an added bonus, the motion for going into Burnout mode was an appropriate Top Gun Volleyball fist-pump. The whole experience was surprisingly fun and I walked away with nary a bad thing to say (which is quite an accomplishment, because normally I complain a lot). http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/989/989269p1.html If I wasn't excited about NATAL potential this got me drooling really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goji Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 This is down right amazing. Imagine the fun to be had with this, though I'm still a bit of a Nintendo fanboy for the fun Mario party games, a genre the 360 needs more of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMELTN Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 affirm. (Y) looks awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebelly Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 yea read this earlier and it sounds amazing :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenser.d Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Read it earlier too. I'm a Burnout fanatic, so now I'm even more pumped for what Natal could mean for that franchise :D -Spenser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad. Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Brilliant! Really excited to see the possible outcomes from Natal :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remysaus Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Can't wait to try it out myself some day, it sounds like something from a scifi movie, all the things you could do with this kind of technology goes so much further than just games.. Just think about stuff like teaching surgeons for example on how to operate on a body, of course the precision has to be perfect, but it's just one example of all the possibilities. Exciting new tech, gotta love it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boz Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 I'm having a feeling that Microsoft is doing NXE 2.0 version that will look like Minority Report feel. Imagine using your hands to flip through NXE and content and use voice to navigate or have a real live person or your avatar you can talk to, that can greet you and discuss new games with you and stuff. That would be unbelievable and it's not really that hard to imagine or do now with Natal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_I am Reptar Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 This is amazing stuff =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furyshinobi Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 +1. I can actually imagine myself playing Mirror's Edge on it actually :) Run on the spot or moving your hands up and down to make Faith run and using our hands to beat the stuffing of the bad guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunknMunky Veteran Posted June 3, 2009 Veteran Share Posted June 3, 2009 I'm having a feeling that Microsoft is doing NXE 2.0 version that will look like Minority Report feel. Imagine using your hands to flip through NXE and content and use voice to navigate or have a real live person or your avatar you can talk to, that can greet you and discuss new games with you and stuff. That would be unbelievable and it's not really that hard to imagine or do now with Natal. They already showed that in the conference. Rewatch the introduction for Natal and you see a woman and her husband sitting down to a movie. She scrolls through the selection then says "play" when she has picked the film. The camera also recognizes you when you stand infront of it and auto signs you in :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad. Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 They already showed that in the conference. Rewatch the introduction for Natal and you see a woman and her husband sitting down to a movie. She scrolls through the selection then says "play" when she has picked the film.The camera also recognizes you when you stand infront of it and auto signs you in :) Indeed, it's breathtaking imo. It's just like watching a film and seeing the agencies using similar software :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notuptome2004 Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 sounds and looks cool but nd yes there is a Butt - now while Microsoft may be doing this controller Free of any controllers at all and 360 users may be Wowed and or wanting this badly , would ant this contradict any statements in a genitive sense that they have had about the Wii doing this but succeeding yet still they go pfft Just asking and or curious as to i love both platforms i own a wii but not a 360 at this time but for the Wii i am waiting for The conduit <<<< taking next gen graphics and making them work on the Wii is an awesome Feat and also waiting on Red Steel 2 and the next Resident evil game for the Wii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerxes Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Looks cool but to be honest I'd get bored of it within the first 5 mins. I like my controller and I'm stuck in my ways :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si Veteran Posted June 3, 2009 Veteran Share Posted June 3, 2009 I wonder if you used a cardboard cutout of someone's face you could trick the auto-login function of Natal. Haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Pass. I play games to relax. Waving my limbs around isn't relaxing. Do it now, underneath your desk. Do it for an hour. Tedious with no resistance isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerxes Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I wonder if you used a cardboard cutout of someone's face you could trick the auto-login function of Natal. Haha Why does an image of Jeremy Clarkson holding a face mask of Bill Oddie pop into my mind when you say that :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshBluebird Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Something I've been wondering. The whole tech behind the emotion sensing thing shown during the Milo demo. Is that actually part of Natal, or is it Lionhead's own stuff? Either way, I hope other devs can use that, or make their own versions of it. Ignoring silly jumping about the room stuff, that is the best part of the Natal demo. Could make for some interesting games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead_Monkey Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I wonder if you used a cardboard cutout of someone's face you could trick the auto-login function of Natal. HahaMask yes, cutout no. It depends on a 3d map of your face, so strapping on a piece of cardboard wouldn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenser.d Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Something I've been wondering.The whole tech behind the emotion sensing thing shown during the Milo demo. Is that actually part of Natal, or is it Lionhead's own stuff? Either way, I hope other devs can use that, or make their own versions of it. Ignoring silly jumping about the room stuff, that is the best part of the Natal demo. Could make for some interesting games. Well Natal can detect frequency patterns and such within your voice, from what I gather (according to Xbox Live, Natal has it's own processor in it for the camera and mic). Lionhead studios uses that information to discern what emotions you are expressing and codes that into Milo. -Spenser Something I've been wondering.The whole tech behind the emotion sensing thing shown during the Milo demo. Is that actually part of Natal, or is it Lionhead's own stuff? Either way, I hope other devs can use that, or make their own versions of it. Ignoring silly jumping about the room stuff, that is the best part of the Natal demo. Could make for some interesting games. Well Natal can detect frequency patterns and such within your voice, from what I gather (according to Xbox Live, Natal has it's own processor in it for the camera and mic). Lionhead studios uses that information to discern what emotions you are expressing and codes that into Milo. -Spenser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom1981 Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 One thing I am wondering is how precise is it. Example putting a ball in golf will the camera detect small movements? This could be cool but in order for it to make a dent it needs to be cheap and come out within 2 years at the most. They have to get it out before nintendo comes out with a new console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magik Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Freaking-A, man. Freaking-A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharos Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Does anybody know if Natal works even when the lights in the room are turned off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus ^i^ Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Still not impressed :/ For user interfaces, it looks amazing.. for any kind of fast paced hardcore gaming, I'd still want to dig out a controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boz Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 Does anybody know if Natal works even when the lights in the room are turned off? Great question.. I've been wondering that myself. Also, what happens when you have more then one person in the room.. I'm interested in how well it will recognize other people that might be next to you or when you start waving and your hands cross in front of other people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts